Witches in Anime article
published in Animerica Extra Vol. 3, No. 11, October 2000This article was written by and is copyrighted to Patricia Duffield and
may not be reproduced in part or whole without permission.

It's that season again, the time of year for ghosts and goblins. And
what could be more Halloweeny than a witch on a broom? Although this kind
of imagery is decidedly Western in origin, there are a surprising number
of witches in Japanese animation. Despite witches often being creepy and
villainous in the West, most of anime's witches are decidedly cute and charming!

The very first animated shojo TV series just happens to have a witch
as its lead character. First aired December 5, 1966, Maho (long o) Tsukai
Sally (Little Witch Sally) is a charming series about a young
princess from the Land of Magic who is so enchanted with the lives of humans
that she leaves her home to live among them. Sally solves the various problems
which crop up in her life with the use of her magic while still keeping
her identity a secret. Does this sound a bit familiar? It should. Little
Witch Sally was inspired by the international hit TV series, Bewitched.
Although no match for Bewitched's eight year run, Little Witch
Sally was extremely popular with its target audience, running for 109
episodes with an 88 episode remake airing twenty years later. Not only is
Little Witch Sally the first shojo anime, it's also the first magical
girl anime series, making Sally the ancestor of such contemporary hits as
Sailor Moon and Card Captor Sakura (CardCaptors).

Within the almost constant stream of magical girl shows since Sally
comes the next series about a witch. Maho (long o) Tsukai Chappy
(Witch Chappy) was the fifth magical girl anime series and ran for
39 episodes in 1972. Like Sally, Chappy leaves the Land of Magic for the
human world. She has so much fun, eventually Chappy's whole family joins
her in our world where they have various amusing adventures. A couple of
concepts from this series worthy of mention are that Chappy is the first
magical girl to use a wand and the first to confront a villain, both of
which have become staples of the magical girl genre.

Majokko Megu-chan (Witch Girl Megu) was the next witchy
animated series. It premiered in 1972 and ran for a respectable 72 episodes.
Unlike her predecessors, Megu does not leave her homeland but is sent from
it. Megu must live amongst humans and learn to develop and control her skills
as her qualifying exam to become queen of the demon world. Witch Girl Megu
is the first magical girl to have a rival. Snobby, blue-haired Non is also
eligible to become queen, but unlike Megu, she's biased against humans.

After a brief, three year drought of magical girl shows came Majokko
Tickle (Witch Girl Tickle) in 1978, which ran for 45 episodes.
Tickle is a witch who has been trapped in a picture book for being such
a mischievous menace. A girl named Tiko releases her and Tickle decides
to live with the girl as her twin! Amusing antics abound. Interestingly,
the original comic for this series was done by Go (long o) Nagai of Mazinger
Z, Devilman and Cutey Honey fame.

Maho (long o) Shojo (first o long) Lalabel (Magic Girl Lalabel)
is about a young witch who discovers an evil wizard is stealing magic items.
This villain, Biscus, plans to go to the human world, sell the magic items,
and live like a king off the fortunes he'll make. When Lalabel tries to
stop him, she ends up stuck with him in our world. Biscus regularly tries
to get the magic items back from her, but clever Lalabel always manages
to outwit him. This series began in 1980 and ran for 49 episodes.

Although there were plenty of magical girl shows in the 1980's, we didn't
get another new series about a witch until after the remake of Maho (long
o) Tsukai Sally in 1989. Hana no Maho (long o) Tsukai Maribel (Flower
Witch Maribel*) came out in 1992, about four months after the new Sally
ended, and ran for 50 episodes. Like all the heroines we've mentioned before,
Maribel is cute, but unlike them, she is not young. She may look and act
like a little girl, but Maribel is actually 500,005 years old! With her
friends Ken and Yuri (long u), Maribel encounters all sorts of magical creatures.
When she needs to, Maribel can transform and use her magic. This show tends
to be hyper cute.

Not as cavity-causing as Maribel, but also cute and from 1992 comes
Yadamon. In modern, witchy fashion, Yadamon does not fly on a broom
but a floor polisher! Because of her bad, undisciplined behavior, Yadamon
is sent by her mother, the Queen of Witch Forest, to live among humans and
grow up. The story's misadventures turn a little serious and more engaging
when Yadamon encounters Kira, a peer and once friend of the Queen's who
became attracted to the dark side of magic. With enchanting character designs
of Suezen (Marine Color, Percolation*), Yadamon ran for 170 ten-minute
episodes. The comic, which ran in Animage, is darker and more mature
than the TV show.

Based on the comic by Min Ayahana, Akazukin Chacha (Red-Hooded
Chacha) is insanely funny. Orphaned Chacha is raised and trained by
the world's greatest magic user, the mild-mannered, highly-eccentric Selavi.
Chacha also attends the Urara Academy of Magic, which is filled with countless
crazy characters. In the TV series, Chacha has a heritage and a quest. With
the help of magic items and her friends, Riiya and Shiine, Chacha can transform
into Magical Princess Holy-up, and seeks to defeat the evil Daimao. Even
when the plot gets serious, Chacha is usually a barrel of fun. The TV show
ran for 74 episodes, starting in 1994, and the comic just ended this August,
after nine years and over a dozen collected volumes.

The amusing story Maho (long o) Tsukai Tai!* (I Want to Use
Magic or Magic Users Club) started out as a six-part video series
in 1996 and became a 13 episode TV series in 1999. In the near future, the
world is invaded by seemingly unbeatable, yet non aggressive robots. Most
people have grown complacent about the robots' presence, but the high school
Magic Club is determined to find a way to get rid of them. Along the way
they deal with various everyday situations, as well. Since Maho (long
o) Tsukai Tai! did not begin as a general audience title, it does have
some sophomoric sexuality in it.

The most recent witchy TV series is Ojamajo (long o) Doremi (Troublesome
Witch Doremi) which ended this January at 51 episodes.* Uniquely, Doremi
does not begin as a witch but becomes one. When she accidentally turns Majorika,
a witch who runs a magic shop, into a froggy green blob, Doremi must become
a witch to undo the damage. Wait, aren't witches supposed to turn
people into frogs, not the other way around? Doremi is soon joined by her
friends Hazuki and Akio for lots of witchy hijinks and fun.

With all this talk of cute witches from TV, it would be sinister to
forget the most famous anime witch of all: Kiki from Majo (long o) no
Takyubin (long u) (Kiki's Delivery Service). At thirteen, young
witches must set out on their own, and Kiki wants to start her career in
a city by the sea. There she struggles to make her way and grow as a person.
This internationally loved film is based on a children's story by Eiko Kadono
and was transformed into animation by the unmatchable Miyazaki (Nausicaa
of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor
Totoro, etc.) in 1989.

You may be wondering if there's any creepy among all this cute? Of course
there have been vile villains like Hagar (Hyakuju-o (second u and o long)
Golion/Voltron), Karla (The Record of Lodoss War) and the Witches
5* (Sailor Moon) to terrorize the heroes of anime, but villains are
seldom cast in leading roles! With the greatest witchy cultural influence
in Japan being Bewitched, it's not hard to see why there are so many cute
witches in anime. The concept of coming from another world to learn about
human society and customs is a perfect metaphore for a child growing up.
We all have to live together, but wouldn't it be more fun with a little
magic to help along the way?

NOTES:
I've used Maribel because that's an actual Western name. I've seen many
different spellings on the web and none of my personal resources tell me
the preferred spelling. Can you take a look and see if you can find anything
to suggest a spelling preference?

Suezen has worked as a grunt on a number of famous things like Honniamise
(sp? ^^), Rojin Z and Hurricane Polymer, but since he did no designs, I
thought to only include original work.

There are so many different ways of dividing Maho Tsukai Tai!
(Mahotsukai Tai, Maho Tsukaitai!, etc, etc.) I have no idea which to use.
Oliver Chin spelled it Maho Tsukai Tai! In Viz-in 12.7, though I don't know
if this sets a precedent. Feel free to change the translation, too. Supposedly
it has been bought and has or will be released in the US. I couldn't figure
out who has it, though, to find out their name for it.

Please double check the last episode # and air date for Ojamajo Doremi;
that information is not verifiable with my personal resources.

And yes, FYI, it's Witches 5 not Five.

I've written all the Maho Tsukai's as two words, though I'm not 100%
sure that's best. If you feel Mahotsukai is best, please change them.